Spain’s maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, wrote on X that lifeguards had rescued 64 survivors from a boat found off the island of El Hierro, the smallest and westernmost of the Canary Islands, late on Tuesday (March 5).

Four people on the boat from Mauritania were dead and many others were in poor health.

Two of the migrants were airlifted by helicopter to a hospital in Tenerife, the largest of the seven islands that make up the archipelago off the coast of Africa.

Another 14 people were taken to hospital on El Hierro to be treated for various conditions, including hypothermia, dehydration and serious skin infections. 

There were nine minors among the migrants, authorities said.

More dangerous journeys

The Atlantic migration route to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. At least 191 migrants were reported dead or missing in the first two months of 2024 trying to reach the islands, according to the UN migration agency’s Missing Migrants Project. The true figure is believed to be higher, taking into account the boats that disappear without trace.

The charity group Walking Borders, which compiles its figures from families of migrants as well as official statistics, puts the number of dead and missing much higher.

Also read: Identifying dead migrants on Spain’s Canary Islands

So far in 2024, UN figures show, more than 12,000 people have arrived in the islands from Africa, a marked increase compared with this time last year. 

In the whole of 2023, a record number – just under 40,000 people – made the journey, breaking the previous record set in 2006. Many of those arriving last year reached El Hierro, which struggled to provide care to the unusually high number of newcomers.

With AFP, AP